Lightweight long-reach brakes--any interest?

[HillRPete]

Yeah I've been wondering about the pad holders. Unfortunately BDop seems to no longer stock them.

In a perfect world I would find a brake that has enough adjustment range so I can run it with 650b wheels on gravel during the week, and still easily swap to road wheels for the occasional group ride.

Wondering if a long reach caliper -- with the offset holders used to shorten the reach for 700c road wheels -- would work.

[thisisatest]

I'd be interested in a set too. Would be super awesome if Craig EEdwards would make slightly longer arms. I'd put them on an r3mud. New SRAM reds fit, but I'd like just a little more room.

[jahknob]

For what it's worth, I took the plunge and got a second-hand set of Bram's M5 brakes in the regular drop just to see what would happen on my light audax/tourer. The bike frame was custom-made for my by Chas Roberts in Croydon, England as a "best compromise", one-bike-does-it-all (from week-long camping trips to racing), so was designed to go up to around a 700x35c tyre, but I rarely exceed a 700x28c.

The brakes fit! On the rear, the pads are at the very bottom of their range and just clear the tyres. If the pads get really worn, the very, very top might just pull in far enough to catch the sidewalls, but that's a long way off and assumes the bike goes for an age without any rudimentary checks/maintenance. Running with 700x28c tyres and SKS Raceblade XL mudguards, there's still enough room to go bigger, but haven't been able to get to my stash of tyres and try on some 700x35c. I'm sure the tyres won't be the problem in my case, but mudguard clearance might..

BUT on the front wheel, I've been running a set of Pesenti carbon road forks, and since these are close-clearance, the brakes work with plenty of room for the pads to drop lower down, but a 700x28c tyre is the biggest that will fit. The steel Roberts touring forks that came with the frame might have the crown set too high for the brakes to work - I can't check at the moment as I've no access to them (in storage)...

Hope this helps..

[boots2000]

I would get in on the order if the maker is EE.

[basilic]

I bought a set of Far and Near brakes for a frame built for mid-reach Shimano 650. I had 3-4 mm to spare on the shimanos (47-57mm) and the FN are advertised on Fairwheelbikes as 40-55mm, so I thought it would be easy. But in fact the FN have hardly more reach than short-reach Shimano brakes, maybe 2 mm more (I don't know how people measure reach, it seems to change with caliper movement). I actually filed the slot (about 1mm) so the pads would clear the tires and sit at the top part of the brake track. I do NOT advise you do this The FN are visibly flexy, but work amazingly well with Koolstop pads (I'd say better than the shimano 650, more modulation if less power). If anyone can find nice light true mid-reach brakes I would be very much interested.

[DJT21]

He's [Calfee (ed.)] putting crappy TRPs on these bikes (or at least the few I've seen) because there are no other options.

Everywhere I looked the Tektro long reach calipers (R559) is getting good marks. But it's mostly commuters and tourers using them, so they might not be ridden as hard as ambitious road cyclists would ...

Tektro are poor. Shimanos are much better (even the cheaper BR451)